Container for foodstuffs

ABSTRACT

A foodstuff container to be held in a cup receptacle of the armrest of a theater seat. The container has a large generally cylindrical popcorn-holding portion affixed to a base which is shaped on the outside the same as a conventional beverage cup.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant's Ser. No.10/452,325 filed Jun. 2, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of apparatus forreceiving foodstuffs for ready consumption, and more specifically, to animproved apparatus having a compound construction for enhanced capacityconfigured to be received in standard sized and shaped receptacles forreceiving and supporting solid and liquid foodstuffs.

Popular culture virtually demands the convenience of food and drinkholders in home, entertainment and mobile venues, to receive and supportbeverages within easy reach of the consumer. With respect to manyentertainment venues such as movie theaters, theater owners andoperators have sought both to please patrons and to increase revenue byselling various refreshments and snacks in addition to tickets. Thisincludes drinks of various types and snacks such as popcorn. Commonly,such snacks are provided in a variety of containers, mostly large cupsor boxes which are inconvenient to hold in the patron's lap. Mosttheater and many sports arenas have a receptacle holder, often referredto as a cup holder, in an armrest or other structure. Popcorn containersare far too large to be held in such cup holders. One method whichallows larger containers to fit in standard vehicle containerreceptacles involves the use of an adapter. The adapter modifies thestandard vehicle container receptacle to a size such that largercontainers can be accommodated by the standard vehicle containerreceptacle. Dahlquist II et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,468, shows a holderfor a cup which holder has a lower portion which fits within a cupholder and a larger upper portion which holds a beverage cup having adiameter larger than the cup holder lower portion. Chandler, U.S. Pat.No. 5,088,673, discloses a container adapter device designed so that astandard vehicle container receptacle can accommodate containers thatare too large to fit in the standard vehicle container receptacle.

Some cups are designed with a base proportioned to fit the standardvehicle container receptacle having a main body portion of a size largerthan the base have attempted to overcome the problems of the limitedcontainer volume and top heaviness. However, these designs do notaccommodate solid food stuffs in the manner described above.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved food stuffs containerthat overcomes these prior art shortcomings. It should be noted andunderstood that with respect to the embodiments of the present inventiondisclosed herein, the materials, methods, apparatus and processesdisclosed and suggested may be modified or substituted to achieve thedesired protected structures without departing from the scope and spiritof the disclosed and claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of an assembly of the novelintegrated apparatus of the present invention, configured to receive anoptional beverage cup, further configured to be secured to a cup holderprovided in an arm rest such as an arm rest commonly found in many movietheaters, showing the walled tray structure supported by contiguouslyformed support base.

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of another embodiment of thepresent invention, showing the assembly of the cup and walled traycomponents to be secured together for use, further showing a clip forsecuring the so-attached apparatus to the armrest or other structure towhich the invention is to be received.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the presentinvention, shown further configured to receive a shaped container withinthe base recess, having a closed bottom.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the presentinvention, showing a shaped container being fully inserted within thebase recess, having an open bottom.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the presentinvention, showing the walled tray structure with a thicker supportingwall portions, further defining a shoulder for supporting acorresponding rim of a standard beverage container to be used therewith.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the presentinvention, showing a locking engagement between a rim portion of thebase receptacle to be secured to with a corresponding rib-receivingstructure provided in the floor of the walled tray structure to achievethe contiguous foodstuffs container of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the integratedfoodstuffs container of the present invention, showing partitionedcompartments for separating foodstuffs or other substances, and anoptional container for being received within the contiguous basereceptacle.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the integratedfoodstuffs container of the present invention, showing a circular-shapedfoodstuffs receiving volume of the walled tray portion contiguous withan integrally formed, coaxially aligned base receptacle.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the popcorn holder of the presentinvention showing the front and top thereof.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the popcorn holder of the presentinvention showing the front and bottom thereof.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the popcorn holder of the presentinvention showing the top and interior thereof.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view thereof filled with popcorn.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a pair of theater seats showing cupreceptacles in the armrests thereof and one of which is holding thepopcorn holder of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed description as set forth below in connection with theappended drawings is intended as a description of the presentlypreferred embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended torepresent the only form(s) in which the present invention may beconstructed or utilized. The description sets forth functions andsequence of steps for constructing, using, displaying, packaging, orusing the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. Itis understood, however, the same or equivalent functions and structuresmay be accomplished by different embodiments and that they are alsointended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of thisinvention.

With reference now to the drawing figures, FIG. 1 shows the integratedfoodstuffs apparatus 10 of the present invention, having a walled trayportion 12 including a floor 14 bounded by walls 15 to form a relativelywide, open-topped receptacle. According to this embodiment, an opensupport base 16 is secured to and extends from the underside of thefloor 14 at an opening 17 thereto to provide a contiguous volume therebetween, the recess of the support base 16 being readily accessed fromthe walled tray portion 12. The support base 16 is sized and shaped tobe readily accommodated by a cup holder 18 provided in an armrest 19 ofa theater chair (not shown) or other so-configured receptacle-receivingstructure. It will be appreciated that the bottom of the cup holder 18may be open or alternatively be provided with a floor 18(a). Likewise,the underside of the floor 14 of walled tray structure 15 may be planar,and may be provided with extended tray and floor portions intended toprovide additional stability in the lengthwise direction of the armrest19, thereby providing additional foodstuffs receiving space withoutencroaching on available seating areas to either lateral side of thearmrest 19. Optionally, a container 11 may be received within theopening 17 of the apparatus 10, as necessary and desired to contain andmake readily available additional foodstuffs or articles.

As will be appreciated, opening 17 is configured to correspond with cupholders having a relatively standard size recess such as that commonlyprovided in armrests of many theater chairs so as to hold the containerwhile the patron is not eating or optionally, drinking from the cup.Accordingly, recess 17 may be either open or closed, but according toeither embodiment, is readily received within cup holder 18 in themanner previously described. It will be further appreciated that thewalled tray structure 12 is fabricated of a strong, moisture-proof butlightweight material, preferably such as injection molded plastic suchas ABS, at low cost so as to be disposable after usage. However, othermaterials, such as fiberboard, corrugated cardboard or other paper-basedmaterials of construction may be used to provide the desired low cost,lightweight, disposable features. As previously described walls 15 maybe configured with a desired height to meet the needs of a particularfood service, lower for relatively flat foods such as pizza, and higherfor low bulk, high volume foods such as chips and popcorn. Whatever theselected wall height, the walls are canted at cooperative angles to benestingly stacked for maximum efficiency in storage and shipping.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-6, various views of another embodiment ofthe inventive apparatus 20 are shown, all representing a readilyassembled embodiments of the walled tray portion 22 and cooperatingsupport base 24. Walled tray portion 22 including floor 26 is bounded bywalls 28 to form a relatively wide, open-topped receptacle in the mannerdescribed with apparatus 10. According to this embodiment, the containerbase 30 is separately provided, to aid in manufacturing, shipping, andstorage. The container base 30 may utilize commonly available beveragecontainers having a standard sized rim for being readily engaged with asnap fit with a corresponding opening 32 formed in the floor of thewalled tray, either with a snap lock fit (FIG. 6), interference fit(FIG. 4), or nesting engagement fit (FIG. 5). Accordingly, walled trayportions 22 may be separated provided, shipped and stored, for use inconjunction with standard beverage receptacles in the manner describedabove.

Again referring to FIG. 2, an additional container 27 may be utilized inconnection with or in addition to the assembly 20 of the invention.Further more, the assembly 20 may be further secured to the armrest 19with additional supports as desired, such as angle clip 34 extendingfrom angle bracket 36 as will be appreciated by the skilled artisan,thereby further helping to assure against unintended spillage andresulting loss and soil.

Referring now to FIG. 6, it will be appreciated that support base 24 mayby provided by a rimmed beverage container 36 having a shaped or rolledrim 38, and that feature standard to most beverage containers isadvantageously exploited by providing a cooperative annular groove 32within the opening 40 (FIG. 2) provided in floor 26. Accordingly, therefreshment vendor need merely align the rim 38 with the opening 40 andassemble the two together with a snap fit to achieve the functionalequivalent of the structure 10 shown in FIG. 1.

With reference now to FIG. 7, it will be seen that a further embodiment50 of the present invention provides at least one partition 52 tosection off separate food receiving areas 54, 56, with the base portion58 (integral or separate) contiguously formed with one of the areas 54,56. Although this embodiment shows a side-by-side arrangement, it willbe apparent to the skilled artisan that alternative arrangements may beachieved, including arced or concentrically zoned areas. No matter thatembodiment, an optional container 60 may be received in base portion inthe manner previously described.

With reference now to FIG. 8, it will be seen that a yet furtherembodiment 70 may include a generally circular walled tray portion 72,with a concentric base portion 74 integrally or affixable thereto in themanner described above.

The foodstuff container 70 is preferably used for popcorn which requiresa far greater interior volume than a drink container. As shown in FIGS.9-11, the container portion 76 is frusto conical but it mayalternatively be cylindrical.

FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view where the concentric base portion74 is open at the top 78 thereof. Preferably the concentric base portion74 is closed at the top 80. This prevents popcorn from entering theinterior of base portion 74 which is too small for the patron's fingersti grasp the popcorn, While the term “popcorn” is used herein, it isintended to include other light, particulate foodstuffs.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the spirit and scope of the following claims.

1. A popcorn holder for use in conjunction with a cup holder recesscomprising: a frusto-conical or cylindrical container having an open topand a diameter of at least 6 inches and a closed bottom; a concentricbase portion attached to the closed portion of the container, said baseportion having a diameter adapted to be held in the cup holder recess.2. A solid foodstuff holder for use in conjunction with a cup holderrecess in the arm of a chair comprising: a frusto-conical or cylindricalcontainer of at lease 6 inches in diameter having an open top, closedside walls and a bottom which is closed except for a central openingsurrounding a concentric base portion extending downwardly from saidbottom, said concentric base portion having an open top and a closedbottom and having dimensions adapted to be held in said cup holder.